It was just one of those nights when things did not go the Charge’s way. Shot after shot careened off the rim, passes were intercepted, balls were stolen right out of their hands and easy shots turned out not to be so easy. The only redeeming feature of the game was that being a mid-week contest it was a small crowd thus there were fewer witnesses. The 103-95 loss for the Charge snaps a four-game winning streak and drops them to 17-11 on the season while the BayHawks jump to 14-11.
The game had doom spelled out all over it as Erie shot ahead to a 31-23 lead in the first quarter by using accurate shooting, strong defense and taking advantage of six Charge turnovers. Canton was able to tie the game 39-39 in the second quarter before Erie went on a 23-6 run that had them ahead 62-45 at the half.
From then on it was BayHawks basketball as Erie kept the lead to the end, hitting a high tide lead of 18 at one point. This was in spite of hitting only 33% from the field in the second half. The Charge did manage to finish a 45%-43% edge in field goals which makes them 14-2 for the season when outshooting the other team.
Josh Selby led Canton with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting with 11 rebounds and five assists in 35 minutes off the bench for his first double-double of the season. Kevin Jones notched his sixth double-double in his seventh game with the Charge this season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 14 boards with two steals in 34 minutes. Jorge Gutierrez tied his season-best mark with 20 points with five rebounds and a steal in 34 minutes.
Erie was paced by Henry Sims’ effort of 19 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in 40 minutes. Cory Higgins poured in 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 44 minutes. Demetri McCamey scored 16 points and dished out four assists in 32 minutes. Demonte Harper added 12 points in 28 minutes off the bench, while Kyle Goldcamp scored eight points with 11 rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes.
Canton will next host the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this Saturday, February 2nd at 7:30 p.m. at the Civic Center for Heart Healthy Night. Fans in attendance can receive free health screenings, participate in a Q & A with medical professionals, receive information at wellness-themed concourse stations and more! Tickets start as low as $7 and fans can receive more information by heading to www.CantonCharge.com.
CANTON CHARGE POSTGAME QUOTES
CHARGE HEAD COACH ALEX JENSEN
(On tonight’s game): “We have to give a lot of credit to Erie and Gene (Cross) because they have actually gotten a lot better. They are playing really hard. Henry Sims actually had a better game than his 19 points and 13 rebounds and has gotten a lot better than the last time we saw him earlier in the season. I give all the credit in the world to them and we found out tonight that we are not as good as we thought we are, which is hopefully a good thing. It’s one of those games where there were times where we would fight hard, offensively or defensively, for 15 seconds and then they kept coming.
We could see those loose balls and offensive rebounds in those last five or six seconds we were waiting for somebody else to do it. They got most of the loose balls, and I don’t think we got one until the end of the game when Ryan (Rossiter) came in. All the credit in the world to them, but surprisingly we outrebounded them. We just have to pay more attention to the scouting report we do on guys. They deserved to win and we didn’t.”
(On Josh Selby’s play tonight): “He hasn’t played in a while, but it was nice because we were able to have two practices with him before the game and I thought he did a good job… I think that he will continue to get better and I think he was good. Like all of us, including the coaches, there’s stuff we need to work on, but I thought he played hard tonight.”
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